Dao Qi Wu Zang Guan Guan: I became a Daoist Master in the 1990s

Chapter 32 Crying at the Grave
"Where...where is he?" Liu Wen's voice trembled uncontrollably.

"Gone...dragged away..." Zhang Qiang's face was ashen, and his crotch was wet again, this time from the heat.

"What are you all standing there for?! Run!!"

Qi Yun's voice boomed like thunder.

Only then did everyone realize what was happening, and they unleashed all their strength, scrambling and crawling as they ran for their lives toward Qi Yun!
Mud splattered, and heavy breathing and suppressed sobs mingled in the wind and rain.

They ran for an unknown amount of time, their lungs felt like they were about to burst, and their legs felt as heavy as lead.

The rain gradually subsided and eventually stopped completely.

But the chill in the air did not dissipate; instead, it became even thicker and stickier, like a cold, damp cloth wrapped around the body, making one's teeth chatter and the whole body tremble uncontrollably.

"No... I can't... I can't run anymore..." Zhang Qiang, carrying Li Juan on his back, was the first to stop.

Like a fish out of water, he gasped for breath, each inhalation accompanied by a tearing pain in his chest.

Liu Wen's face was also pale and his eyes were unfocused.

"A living, breathing person... just like that... gone?"

Liu Wen slumped in the mud, muttering blankly, almost swallowed by immense fear and helplessness.

Qi Yun held his knees, his chest heaving violently, his heart filled with coldness.

The exchange he had just had made him realize that the ghosts in reality were far more bizarre than those he had encountered at the Five Viscera Observation Temple, and even the ghost infant!
The Crimson Hunt Fire can harm it, but it cannot easily burn it out like it burns away a vengeful spirit.

Its near-instantaneous teleportation ability makes it impossible to defend against!

"Brother Qi...you...the back of your neck..."

When Zhang Qiang caught his breath, he inadvertently glanced at the back of Qi Yun's neck, and his voice trembled again.

Qi Yun reached out and touched the back of his neck, finding it cool and slippery.

With a slight thought, a wisp of crimson hunting fire flowed over.

"Zi la..."

A sharp, needle-like pain shot through me!
Accompanied by a slight burning sound, a wisp of black smoke, mixed with the smell of decaying grave soil and burnt flesh, rose from between his fingers.

After the stinging sensation subsided, the lingering, chilling ghostly handprint completely disappeared.

This scene was clearly witnessed by Zhang Qiang and Liu Wen.

Their pupils contracted sharply, and their last trace of doubt vanished.

"Brother Qi! Master Qi! Please! Take us out of here! We'll do whatever you say!" Zhang Qiang almost knelt down.

"Qi Yun! No, Master Qi! Save us!" Liu Wen and Li Juan were also in tears.

Looking into their eyes, filled with despair yet holding a last glimmer of hope, Qi Yun took a deep breath of the cold, chilling air: "Follow me, don't fall behind, don't look around, don't listen to anything! Let's go!"

He checked the direction, but his heart sank even deeper.

The road we came from seemed even more unfamiliar after the rain stopped.

The road seemed to narrow and twist, and the sparse trees on both sides had become dense.

The soil beneath our feet became even wetter and stickier, exuding a musty smell.

"demon!"

At this moment, Qi Yun finally realized!
I've finally figured out what was wrong with me before.

The beam of the train conductor's flashlight at that time was remarkably similar to the white lantern that the old Taoist priest was carrying.

The difference is that the old Taoist priest led him out of the ghost realm, while the ghost led them deep into the ghost realm!

Now that Qi Yun doesn't have the old Taoist's white paper lantern to guide him, how can he escape the Ghost Realm?
"Hopefully we haven't gone too far yet, and we can get out of here soon!"

Thinking of this, Qi Yun felt helpless, realizing that he had learned too little from following the old Taoist, and that relying solely on the Crimson Hunting Fire was far from enough!

He suppressed his helplessness and anxiety, and solemnly instructed, his voice exceptionally clear in the deathly silence: "From now on, everyone keep your heads down and only look at the road ahead! No matter what you hear or see, pretend you didn't hear or see it! Don't stop for even a moment! Got it?!"

"I've got it! I've got it!" The three nodded frantically.

The atmosphere within the team subsequently became extremely tense.

Everyone stared intently at the muddy path a few feet square beneath their feet, as if it were the only ladder to survival.

Footsteps, panting, and my own heart pounding like a drum were the only sounds in this deathly silent world.

I don't know how long I walked, maybe only a few minutes, maybe as long as a century.

Woo...woo...

A muffled, intermittent sobbing sound drifted out of the darkness ahead without warning.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear, carrying a bone-chilling sorrow that seemed to pierce right into one's ears.

Everyone's bodies stiffened instantly!

Cold sweat instantly soaked their icy backs. Zhang Qiang and Liu Wen bit their lips hard, desperately suppressing their instinct to look up, staring intently at their feet, their steps involuntarily slowing down, trembling violently.

Qi Yun's heart was in his throat.

The source of the crying was just ahead on their path!
He forced himself to remain calm, his voice extremely low, "Don't stop! Don't make a sound! Follow me!"

He gritted his teeth and continued walking.

The beam of the flashlight moved forward with each step, finally illuminating the scene ahead.

In the middle of the road, a solitary earthen mound rises up in stark contrast!
The mound wasn't large, and the damp soil looked freshly turned.

A broken blue stone tombstone leans against the grave, its inscription long since blurred and illegible.

Beneath that tombstone knelt a dark figure! It was curled up, its shoulders heaving violently, and the chilling weeping sound came from it!
The dark figure stood with its back to them, its cries mournful and plaintive, echoing in the silent, cold night, filled with endless sorrow and...

It's a man!
Qi Yun felt a chill run down his spine, and all the muscles in his body tensed to the extreme.

He forced himself not to look at the dark figure or listen to the crying, focusing all his attention on the muddy road beneath his feet. He carefully, as quietly as possible, and close to the side of the road away from the grave mound, began to walk around it.

One step, two steps... around the tombstone... away from the burial mound...

The mournful cries lingered in my ears, as if they were blowing on my back.

The crying gradually weakened and eventually disappeared completely into the thick darkness and cold behind them after they had walked more than ten meters away.

"call!"

Almost simultaneously, the group exhaled a long, suppressed breath, as if they had just been pulled out of icy water, completely exhausted.

Liu Wen's legs went weak and he almost knelt down.

"Well done!" Qi Yun breathed a sigh of relief, his back feeling cold from the cold sweat.

He whispered encouragement, trying to inject a glimmer of strength into the despairing team, "Just do it! Remember, no matter what happens, don't..."

His words stopped abruptly.

His gaze swept over Zhang Qiang, who was standing beside him with his head down.

He was hunched over, panting heavily.

and many more!

Zhang Qiang's back... is empty!
Li Juan, whom he was supposed to have on hand, is nowhere to be found!
"Where's Li Juan?!"

Qi Yun's voice suddenly rose, carrying a hint of shock and anger that he himself was unaware of!
Zhang Qiang looked up blankly, subconsciously touched his back, and then looked at the empty space beside him. The color drained from his face in an instant!

Fear gripped him instantly: "I...I don't know! Just now...when I passed the grave...I...I didn't feel anything at all!"
She...she just...gone?"

"Gone?! A perfectly healthy person! Right beside you! Just like that?!"

Liu Wen suddenly grabbed Zhang Qiang's arm, his voice shrill and on the verge of collapse, "What the hell are you good for?!"

Qi Yun felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head!

"Could it be... that the ghost didn't spare them?"

Instead, was Li Juan used as a "price" in exchange for their safe passage through that area?

"Li Juan... Li Juan, she..." Liu Wen thought of Li Juan's possible fate, and the immense grief and fear completely overwhelmed him.

He suddenly broke free from Zhang Qiang, covered his head with his hands, and let out a wild, animalistic wail: "Juanzi! My Juanzi! Where are you! Waaaaah..."

"Stop crying! Liu Wen! Shut up!"

Qi Yun's expression changed drastically, and he shouted angrily!
late!

"Woo...Woo..."

Behind Liu Wen, in the darkness they had just escaped, the mournful and plaintive weeping sounded again, clearly and without warning!
And this time, the sound is even clearer!
And the voice changed from male to female!

Liu Wen's cries were instantly cut off as if by an invisible pair of scissors!

His body stiffened abruptly, remaining in the position of burying his head in his hands and crying, before he fell straight backward, landing with a "plop" on the cold, muddy ground, splashing up a small patch of mud.

"Liu Wen?!" Qi Yun exclaimed in surprise.

Qi Yun rushed over in one stride, crouched down, and probed Liu Wen's carotid artery.

icy!

Dead!

There wasn't a single pulse!
Liu Wen's face appeared eerily bluish-gray in the dim light of the flashlight. His eyes were wide open, his pupils dilated, and his mouth was slightly agape, frozen in a twisted expression of his last sob.

His body was cold and stiff, as if he had been dead for a long time!
died!

He died without warning or resistance!

A tremendous shock, a mixture of horror, anger, and bone-chilling cold, slammed into Qi Yun's heart!
His mind went blank. Even after experiencing the strange phenomena of the Five Viscera Temple and the ghostly figures of Qingyang City, he was now facing the silent death in this real ghost realm.

I also felt an unprecedented shock and powerlessness!

"Zhang Qiang! Go! Don't stop! Go now!"

Qi Yun suddenly stood up, his voice hoarse, carrying an undeniable determination.

He had to take the last person out with him!

He reached out to pull Zhang Qiang, who was standing there like a wooden puppet.

My fingers touched Zhang Qiang's cold arm.

Zhang Qiang slowly and stiffly raised his head.

His face... was blank.

His eyes were vacant, devoid of any sparkle, yet a strange, stiff smile, as if painted on, clung to the corners of his mouth.

What made Qi Yun's blood freeze instantly was—

On Zhang Qiang's hunched, slightly forward-leaning back, a "person" was lying silently and unnoticed at some point!
It was Li Juan who disappeared!
Her denim jacket was covered in wet, black mud that clung to her body, outlining her stiff figure.

His face was completely bloodless, as white as if it had been coated with cheap wall paint, but his cheeks had two extremely unnatural, paper-like rosy patches.

Her lips were a vibrant, glistening red, as if she had just drunk her fill of blood.

The most terrifying thing is her eyes!
He stared intently at Qi Yun, who was standing right in front of him, the whites of his eyes making up the majority of his vision, his pupils shrinking to two pinpoint black dots. There was no trace of human life in them, only an inhuman, resentful, and slightly mocking smile.

She lay there, soaking wet and cold, on Zhang Qiang's back, her hands resting on his shoulders like withered branches.

The putrid muddy water dripped down her hair and the hem of her clothes, drop by drop, onto Zhang Qiang's stiff shoulders.

She turned to Qi Yun and parted her bright red lips.

Laughed.

(End of this chapter)